Legal Question in Immigration Law in California

Immigration - Deportation

First of all, thank you in advance for your assistance. My nephew's dad was deported to Mexico two months ago, nephew's mom is in and out of jail all the time. My nephew is living with maternal grandma, and nephew's dad wants to have his son live with him in Mexico. Currently, nephew's mom is in jail. How do we go about getting nephew to Mexico, maternal grandma doesn't have legal custody of my nephew, but definitely she's getting government help for him (housing, food stamps, $$$ help). Paternal relatives (us) don't want to get any government help for our nephew. I know nephew's mom needs to get a passport for my nephew, or how do we get temporary custody of him so we can obtain his passport and then travel to Mexico to be with his dad. Most likely grandma will fight in court to get custody. Does nephew's dad has any parental legal rights even though he lives in Mexico now? Does maternal grandma has more legal rights than incarcerated mother or deportee dad? Please help, THANK YOU :-) We really want to be part of my nephew's life, in a legal way.


Asked on 2/11/09, 12:23 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Joseph La Costa Joseph La Costa, Attorney at Law

Re: Immigration - Deportation

Your matter is complex and you should get an attorney. If you are located in Orange, San Diego or Imperial Counties, you can email me your contact info, so we can discuss your particular situation. There is no charge for consultation.

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Answered on 2/12/09, 1:29 pm
Larry L. Doan Law Office of Larry L. Doan

Re: Immigration - Deportation

I don't think this has to be this complicated. Have you asked the child what he wants? I've represented hundreds of clients in deportation proceedings in 12 years and I would say in 99% of the time, if there's a choice, the child doesn't want to go back to Mexico or their homeland, especially if they've been here a long time. If your nephew was born in the US, that's even more true. Only if both parents are deported and the children are minors will they go with their parents. even then, many deported parents choose to leave their kids here with close relatives so they can have a better life.

If your nephew's parents are not divorced and there has been no custtody order from the Family Law court, then both parents still have custody, even if the father's been deported. As a practical matter, if the child wants to stay in the US, there's not much the father can do since he can't appear in California courts to fight for his son's custody. As you recognize, the grandmother would fight for the kid's custody, and in this case, the Family Law court would probably consider her care to be in the best interest of the child, rather than an incarcerated mother and a father deported to Mexico.

Larry L. Doan, Esq.

Note: The above answer should be considered legal information only and not legal advice, and should not be construed to create an attorney-client relationship.

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Answered on 2/11/09, 1:14 pm


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